


Into the Wild World

by voleuse



Category: Eureka
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-01
Updated: 2008-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-04 02:51:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voleuse/pseuds/voleuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>You can enter their caves and castles, their glass laboratories. Just don't be fooled by anyone but yourself.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Into the Wild World

**Author's Note:**

> Set during S1, no spoilers. Title and summary adapted from Michael Ondaatje's _To a Sad Daughter_.

Jack had always known Zoe was smart, but truth be told, until they moved to Eureka, he couldn't have proved it.

_There's a difference between _smart, he had scolded her once, _and _smart-ass.

She had rolled her eyes at him--he remembered, because the stark tracings of her eyeliner had horrified him--and said, _Thanks, Dad. Nice to know you believe in me._

She hadn't run away that night, but getting home five hours after curfew made about the same point.

*

 

Jack had always known Zoe was smart, so he managed to grin confidently at the registrar when he enrolled Zoe at Tesla.

He knew exactly when Zoe's transcripts scrolled over the screen, because he'd seen that frown at every parent-teacher conference he'd attended for the past five years.

"Zoe sometimes has problems with authority," he explained, bracing his hands against the registrar's desk as he leaned forward. "I'm sure you see a lot of that around here. What with the geniuses and all."

"Hm," the registrar said.

"I'm sure she'll surprise you," Jack said.

"We'll see."

Jack hooked his thumbs into his belt loops and smiled.

*

 

Jack had always known Zoe was smart, so the first time he saw her studying, really _studying_, it didn't strike him as out of the ordinary.

Of course, nine steps out of the kitchen, the image really hit him, and he spun around to stare at her head, bent over three textbooks and a graphing calculator.

"What're you doing?" he asked, because maybe the obvious was too obvious to be true.

"Planning a heist," Zoe replied. "I'm thinking of using a giant robot as a getaway car."

Jack thought that over for a second. "Okay, I don't know if that's actually possible or not, so--"

"Calculus, Dad," Zoe said, looking up from her books with a frown. "I'm catching up for midterms next week."

"Ah." Jack nodded and strolled back to the table and peered at her books. He chuckled. "Looks like--"

"It is Greek."

"Okay." He coughed. "Good luck with that."

"Thanks," she said.

And for a second, he believed she actually meant it.

*

 

Jack had always known Zoe was smart, but he had never known, really, _how_ smart.

Then one afternoon, he caught her arguing with Henry about the viability of jetpacks, or reducing traffic jams using rockets, or something that involved words that he usually associated with _The Jetsons_.

Henry's smile, Jack knew, was the one that meant Henry was humoring his opponent, but they kept debating the issue twenty minutes after Jack arrived. Only the starting time for Zoe's dress rehearsal put a stop to it, as Zoe slugged Henry on the arm with a smile. She planted a kiss on Jack's cheek and promised to be home for dinner before she skipped away.

"Sorry about Zoe," Jack apologized, "she can get really stubborn sometimes."

Henry smirked. "I wonder where she gets that?" Then his smile turned genuine. "But she has some interesting ideas, Jack. You should encourage her to pick up some political science next semester."

"Political science?" Jack asked. "Really?"

"Absolutely." Henry nodded, though his expression indicated he was already spinning ahead to his next project. "She's got a bright future ahead of her."

"That," Jack told the sky, "I never doubted."


End file.
